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Creatures Like Us?

As a child brought up among animals, Lynne Sharpe never doubted they were essentially 'creatures like us'. It came as a shock to learn that others did not agree. Here she exposes the bizarre way in which many philosophers — including even some great and humane ones — have repeatedly talked and written about animals.

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As a child brought up among animals, Lynne Sharpe never doubted they were essentially 'creatures like us'. It came as a shock to learn that others did not agree. Here she exposes the bizarre way in which many philosophers — including even some great and humane ones — have repeatedly talked and written about animals. They have discussed the topic in terms of non-existent abstract ‘animals’, conceived as defective humans, entirely neglecting the experience of people who have wide practical knowledge of companion animals — such as horses and dogs — through working with them. She testifies to the interesting nature of these creatures’ lives, noting that the usual narrow approach to animals carries with it also a distorted notion of human life as essentially cerebral and language-centred.

Source: Times Literary Supplement

Credit: Peter Atterton

"An impressive and carefully-written book."

Source: Resurgence

"Scholarly and well-argued."

Credit: Mary Midgley

"A lively and astute book which does a badly-needed job in clearing out a pile of bad philosophy. Anyone interested in understanding the position of animals will surely enjoy it and find it helpful."

Source: Metapsychology

Credit: Tuomas W. Manninen

"Creatures Like Us? is written with great lucidity, and the opposing arguments are subjected to close scrutiny. The book is valuable not only to those interested in animal rights, but also to those who are sympathetic to the social conception of moral status and personhood."

Credit: Richard Ryder

"Written with superb clarity as all good philosophy should be. Lynne Sharpe powerfully champions animals and asserts that the planet is no more ours than theirs."

Source: Journal of Moral Education

Credit: Dr Dorothy Boorse

"Admirably and clearly written, Creatures Like Us will be of interest to general readers and academics interested in the moral status of animals."

Source: The European Legacy

Credit: Stanley Shostak

"A superfluity of personal anecdotes, Sharpe defends her sense of fellowship with some animals and her initial argument 'that all creatures are to be protected and cared for'."